Kwani? 05 Part 01: Maps and Journeys

This is the first of a twin edition that examines Kenya in the context and violent aftermath of its 2007 elections is available from bookstores from February 28th. In the two issues, over 50 writers, photographers, poets and cartoonists provide a collective narrative on what we were before, and what we became, during the epochal first 100 days of 2008

Censuses have been ordered in key locations and we have body counts
– Keguro Macharia, ‘Kenya, in Retrospect’

We are not looking for lilywhite boys,
lucent and incorruptible.
We are looking for a margin of human error,
a hasty scrawl of responsibility
–Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, ‘Transparency’

…Of course I had heard the rumours; rumours were everywhere. I called the government like crazy,
but you don’t wait for such rumours to be confirmed. You take precautions. The people in town
decided, let’s call reinforcements. By the 25th, at six in the morning we had reinforcements from
Naivasha and other places – what everyone calls Mungiki…
–Rift Valley Testimonial

…Kenya, I cannot avoid thinking, should see what Uganda did to itself before plunging headlong
into the mess. When people speak of ethnic hatred, they have the confidence of those who have
not yet fallen and broken a limb…-David Kaiza, ‘Benediction in Oyugis’

Description

Billy Kahora,Kwani Managing Editor

Established in 2003, Kwani? Trust is a Kenyan based literary network dedicated to developing quality creative writing and committed to the growth of the creative industry through the publishing and distribution of contemporary African writing, offering training opportunities, producing literary events and establishing and maintaining global literary networks. Our vision is to create a society that uses its stories to see itself more coherently.

Our flagship publication, Kwani?, is a journal founded by some of Kenya’s most exciting new writers and has 6 print editions to date, each containing more than 300 pages of new journalism, fiction, experimental writing, poetry, cartoons, photographs, cutting edge academic papers, ideas, literary travel writing & creative non-fiction.

Billy Kahora is Kwani? Managing Editor and below is his interview with Smart Monkey on new wave of writers and publishing of Kenyan literature, its rebirth in the post-Moi era, the new rising talents, and the challenges the publishing industry faces in adapting to the digital era.

Additional information

Dimensions

23.5 x 15.5 cm

There are no reviews yet.

Established in 2003, Kwani Trust is a Kenyan based literary network dedicated to developing quality creative writing and committed to the growth of the creative industry through the publishing and distribution of contemporary African writing, offering training opportunities, producing literary events and establishing and maintaining global literary networks. Our vision is to create a society that uses its stories to see itself more coherently.